Now in the fifteenth
year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of
Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip
tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch
of Abilene, in the high
priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of
Zacharias, in the wilderness. He came into all the region around
the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for remission of sins.
As it is written in the
book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

All flesh will see
God's salvation.'"
He said therefore to
the multitudes who went out to be baptized by him, "You offspring of
vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits
worthy of repentance, and don't begin to say among yourselves, 'We have
Abraham for our father;' for I tell you that God is able to raise up
children to Abraham from these stones! Even now the axe also lies at the
root of the trees. Every tree therefore that doesn't bring forth good
fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire."
The multitudes asked
him, "What then must we do?"
He answered them,
"He who has two coats, let him give to him who has none. He who has
food, let him do likewise."
Tax collectors also
came to be baptized, and they said to him, "Teacher, what must we
do?"
He said to them,
"Collect no more than that which is appointed to you."
Soldiers also asked
him, saying, "What about us? What must we do?"
He said to them, "Extort from no one by violence, neither accuse
anyone wrongfully. Be content with your wages."
As the people were in
expectation, and all men reasoned in their hearts concerning John, whether
perhaps he was the Christ, John answered them all, "I
indeed baptize you with water, but he comes who is mightier than I, the
latchet of whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen. He will baptize you in
the Holy Spirit and fire, whose fan is in his hand, and he
will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and will gather the wheat
into his barn; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
Then with many other
exhortations he preached good news to the people, but Herod the tetrarch, being
reproved by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and
for all the evil things which Herod had done, added this also to them all, that
he shut up John in prison.

Now it happened, when all the
people were baptized, Jesus also had been baptized, and was praying. The
sky was opened, and the
Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form as a dove on him; and a voice came
out of the sky, saying "You are my beloved Son. In you I am well
pleased."
Jesus himself, when he
began to teach, was about thirty years old, being the son (as was
supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, the son of Matthat, the son of
Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, the son of Mattathias, the son of
Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, the son of Maath, the son of
Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah,
the son of Joanan, the
son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of
Neri, the son of Melchi,
the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er,
the son of Josa, the son
of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Simeon, the son of
Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim, the son of Melea, the son of
Menan, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, the son of Jesse, the son of
Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, the son of
Aram,
the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, the son of Jacob, the son of
Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, the son of Serug, the son of Reu,
the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, the son of Cainan, the son of
Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, the son of Methuselah, the son of
Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, the son of Enos, the son of Seth,
the son of Adam, the son of God.